


Marvels and Skeptics (The Destiny Remix)

by heyjupiter



Category: X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Alternate Universe - Victorian, Gen, M/M, Remix, Spiritualism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-26
Updated: 2013-05-26
Packaged: 2017-12-13 02:13:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/818757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyjupiter/pseuds/heyjupiter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Raven Darkholme is entranced by a spiritualist, thwarted by her brother, and accidentally matchmakes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Marvels and Skeptics (The Destiny Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pearl_o](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pearl_o/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Marvels and Skeptics](https://archiveofourown.org/works/552252) by [pearl_o](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pearl_o/pseuds/pearl_o). 



It was cold and stormy the night Mr. Lehnsherr was to arrive, the night before the seance. The seance! Raven herself still had trouble believing she was holding one at the Xavier House, of all places. Heaven knew what her adopted parents would think--well. Heaven, or whoever.

Raven tried in vain to read, but not even the latest chapter of The Mystery of Edwin Drood could hold her attention when her mind was racing with plans and concerns about the seance. When she was in such a state she enjoyed taking a stroll around the grounds, but a nice lady such as herself shouldn't take a walk out in weather such as this. So Raven put down her serial, shifted to take the form of one of the groomsmen, and set outside.

The cool air cleared her head and made her focus on why she was hiring Mr. Lehnsherr in the first place. If she could gather even one clue about the mysterious spiritualist she'd met last year, she knew she would consider the time and expense worthwhile.She shivered, remembering the way Miss Adler's blind eyes had seemed to peer straight into Raven's soul when she told her she was sure Raven would see her son again. Raven had had to scoff, proclaiming her to be a fraud, for none of the other ladies at the salon knew of Raven's dalliance with a foreigner, nor of the infant she'd given up.

Since then, Raven had used a considerable amount of her resources to seek out Miss Adler, but it was as if the spiritualist had disappeared off the face of the earth. Raven was desperate to know how Miss Adler knew of young Kurt at all--and if it were possible that she could truly foretell the future. Now she hoped to make more connections among the underworld society of spiritualists. And when she had heard of Mr. Lehnsherr's services, she had thought that even if he couldn't help her find Miss Adler, perhaps it might set her mind at ease if he could prove other mediums as frauds--though in her heart of hearts, Raven knew that Miss Adler was different from other mediums.

Despite her general skepticism, she was anxious to meet Madam Sterling, and more anxious still to meet Mr. Lehnsherr. In his letters he had seemed intelligent and interesting, if a touch condescending. But Raven was used to being condescended to. Even Charles, who really ought to have known better, treated her like she was an empty-headed bint more often than not. Mr. Lehnsherr said he had never heard of Miss Irene Adler, but if Raven met Mr. Lehnsherr in person and found him to be trustworthy, perhaps she could ask more directly.

Now soaked to the skin from her walk across the grounds, Raven sought solace from the rain in the stable, where she shifted back to her dainty, blonde form. It confused the horses for her to smell different than how she looked. She wondered what the horses might think if they saw her as she truly was, but the risk of a groomsman walking on on her was too great.

Part of her worry about hosting the seance at her estate was that it might call undue attention to her, though Raven knew she had no real cause for concern. Seances were very fashionable, and even the most suspicious old biddy would have no reason to suspect what Raven's _real_ eccentricity was. And knowing what Raven knew about herself, and about Charles--wasn't it more likely that Miss Adler had some kind of... gift, as Charles like to say, than that she was a mere spiritualist? It was oddly more reassuring to believe that Miss Adler could read her mind, or see the future, than it was to believe that the truth about Raven's indiscretion had reached England.

"It's not a very good plan, is it?" she asked the horses. Mystique, a beautiful Arabian, nickered softly. "Well, it isn't as if any of you have a better one, now is it?"

The horses were silent in reply, and Raven decided she had better head back into the house. Once inside, she shifted back to her blonde form, though she remained dripping wet from the rain. Unfortunately, her housekeeper caught her on her way back up to her bedroom.

"Ach, Miss Darkholme, have you been out in this rain?"

"Oh, just for a minute, Mrs. Cassidy--I... thought I heard a cat."

Mrs. Cassidy shook her head. "Sometimes I think you care more about animals than you do about finding a suitable husband!"

"That... might be true," Raven allowed. "But I'm fine, truly--"

"If you catch your death of the cold, do you know how difficult it would be for me to find another position? Hmph," Mrs. Cassidy said. "Come now, I'll draw a hot bath for you, won't that be lovely?"

By now, Raven knew there were things worth fighting with Mrs. Cassidy about and things there weren't, and so she allowed herself to be swept upstairs, though it was still early in the evening.

She'd protested, "But Mr. Lehnsherr is coming tonight! I should greet him. It will be impolite if I'm asleep when he arrives."

"Impolite is him arriving at such an hour," Mrs. Cassidy had sniffed. "Don't you worry, ma'am, I'll see that he's taken care of. You just rest up. Tomorrow will be... well, it will be something to talk about, I am certain."

Raven sighed. "Yes, one way or another, it should definitely be that."

Upstairs, after her bath Mrs. Cassidy all but shoved her into bed with a hot water bottle. Raven obediently lay beneath the covers until she was sure Mrs. Cassidy had returned downstairs, and then she sat up and reviewed her letters with Erik Lehnsherr. She'd been writing in circles, telling him about her experience with Miss Adler, but not revealing quite what she'd heard from the spiritualist nor what she truly hoped to find. She hoped for a confidante in Mr. Lehnsherr. She wasn't sure why she didn't talk to Charles about it; she suspected that she couldn't bear his disapproval of something so important to her.

She slept uneasily and awoke early, and was startled to find Charles in the breakfast room.

"Charles! What are you doing here?" She knew he'd promised never to read her mind, but she still remembered her thoughts from the previous night with a guilty flash.

"I'm delighted to see you as well, my darling sister," Charles said with that insufferable smile of his.

"Yes, yes, of course, it is always a pleasure to see you, but you hadn't sent any notice."

"I thought I was always welcome here?"

Raven pursed her lips and added sugar to her tea. "Yes, Charles, of course you are. I just wondered what the purpose of your visit might be."

"Well, I had simply thought to visit you, though last night I heard of an interesting event in town."

"Oh?"

"Yes, I met a gentleman who told me there's to be a seance. Today. At Xavier House." Charles had on his most disapproving face, and Raven rolled her eyes.

"Haven't you heard? Seances are very popular this season. They're very thrilling for the ladies."

"Being fashionable is all well and good, but really, Raven, a _seance_?"

"You're always such a snob, Charles."

"Come now, I know you think it's nonsense, too. You must; I know the last time I saw you you still possessed the capacity for rational thought. Though I suppose I have wondered at times over the years..."

"Oh, don't." Raven took a piece of toast from the serving platter and channeled all her rage into buttering it precisely. "Of all people, I should think _you_ should realize that there's more out there than people think."

"That's a completely different thing, and you know it."

Raven debated how much to tell him--perhaps he would disapprove less of a seance if he knew the real reason for it... or perhaps he would disapprove of it more--when Mr. Lehnsherr entered the room and introduced himself and ended the debate for her. Breakfast was full of excruciating small talk, and Mr. Lehnsherr proved to be far more interested in talking to her brother than to Raven herself. He barely even looked at her, as Mr. Lehnsherr and Charles gazed at each other intently throughout the meal. She wondered if Charles was reading the other man's thoughts. But if he'd found Mr. Lehnsherr's true intent, he probably wouldn't have left breakfast so abruptly. Curious.

"Shall I show you to the library?" she asked.

He nodded and said, "Certainly. It's quite an estate."

"This way, if you will," she said, leading him down the hallway.

They walked in silence for a few moments before Mr. Lehnsherr said, "It's none of my business, I suppose, but I wonder why you haven't told your brother your plans for the seance."

Raven raised an eyebrow and said, "You suppose correctly. It _is_ none of your business. Charles will figure it out soon enough--in fact, I'm surprised he hasn't already. In the meantime, it's a rare thing that one gets a chance to keep a secret from him, and I always cherish the moment when it does occur." She smiled and was gratified to see him return the smile.

When they reached the library, Raven stood by the door and watched Mr. Lehnsherr examine the room. She'd seen the library hundreds of times before, but seeing him inspect every detail of the room reminded her of when she'd come to Xavier House as a child. She'd been so impressed with the estate then, and even more impressed with Charles.

"This is where it will take place?" Lehnsherr asked, taking her out of her reverie.

She nodded. "What are you looking for? She's not even arrived yet, never set foot on the property, so there's no way she could have set up any of her tricks in here. It's just a room."

Mr. Lehnsherr looked around the room before replying, "To you, it is just a room. To the medium - and thus to me - it is a stage. This is where her performance will be conducted. Where you see your familiar furniture and books, I see possibilities. I have witnessed enough seances and readings in my career to know most of the common frauds. Looking at the room like this, I can see what she will see, too: the ways those frauds will fit most easily into the space you've provided."

Raven nodded, and now she thought back to when Miss Adler had told Raven her vision. There had been no props, no smoke or mirrors. Just the spiritualist's intense, blind gaze, seeming to look right into Raven's eyes as she told her of her past and her future, and of her son's present. The more she learned about fraudulent spiritualists, the more certain she was that Miss Adler must be truly gifted, the way she and Charles were.

When Mr. Lehnsherr had completed his study of the room, he took his leave of her and went outside for a walk on the grounds. Raven would have enjoyed a walk in this weather as well, but she sensed that Mr. Lehnsherr wanted his privacy, and so she returned to the library and read the newspaper Mr. Lehnsherr had brought with him. It was _The Light_ , the publication of the London Spiritualist Alliance, and she read it, of course, with an eye for any mention of Miss Irene Adler. She found none, but it was still an interesting way to pass the morning, until Charles came into the library with a guilty and proud expression--not the first time she'd seen that particular blend on his face. He added a touch of disapproval to the mixture when he noticed what she was reading.

"I spoke to Madam Sterling," he said.

She jerked her chin up. "She's here? Why didn't anyone bring her to me?"

"Because... because I asked the help to bring her to speak with me as soon as she arrived. We had a lovely chat, Raven, we did," Charles said earnestly.

She pursed her lips and said, "Where is she now?"

"She has left the house, Raven. I spoke to her about the dangers of false spiritualism... the cruel false hope it can give. She's resolved to resign from the profession entirely."

"Charles Xavier, you had no right--"

"What right do you have, Raven, to host such a...distasteful event?"

"This may come as a surprise to you, Charles, but you don't know everything. This was not to be what you thought it was, and now you've ruined everything."

"What do you mean? It wasn't to be a seance?" Charles looked bewildered.

"I'm surprised you didn't read it out of Mr. Lehnsherr's mind. I saw how you were looking at him."

"Read what out of his mind?" Charles asked, his voice curiously guarded.

"Mr. Lehnsherr exposes fraudulent spiritualists. I had hired him to come here to investigate Madam Sterling. Now he shall have nothing to investigate."

"Ah! How interesting!" Charles said. "But why didn't you tell me?"

Raven shrugged, a bit petulantly. It was true, what she'd told Mr. Lehnsherr--she did take a certain amount of childish glee in keeping secrets from Charles. And she was concerned of his disapproval (correctly, it seemed). "Well, I didn't see as to how it was any of your business. And I didn't expect you to derail the whole affair." She stood and paced, suddenly furious.

Charles crossed the room to put a hand to her shoulder. "What's gotten into you, Raven? Since when were you even interested in such affairs?"

She wavered for a moment, but however annoyed she might be at the moment, he was still her brother, her only brother, and she let the whole story tumble out, about how she missed little Kurt and how she'd come to meet Miss Adler at one of the society parties last season, and how she couldn't stop thinking about finding her.

Charles listened intently and said, "Is it Kurt you wish to find, or Miss Adler?"

"Well--well, both!" she said. "I suppose it sounds odd, to be so intrigued by a person after only meeting them once, but I just... the way she looked into my eyes, Charles, I need to talk to her again."

"It doesn't sound so odd as you might think," Charles muttered, half to himself. "And you suspect that Miss Adler has a gift? Like mine?"

"Something like yours, yes," Raven said.

Charles's face lit up and he said, "Then we must find her!"

"I've been _trying_ ," Raven said. "And then _someone_ sent my fake spiritualist home and ruined my plan."

"Well," Charles said, and paused to think of his next word. "It... might not have been the most... productive plan."

"It was just step one," Raven grumbled. "I had hoped to make more connections to the spiritualists."

"Does Mr. Lehnsherr know you were looking for Miss Adler?"

"No. That is, I asked if he knew her, but when he said he didn't, I didn't inquire further. Not yet."

Charles nodded. "Well, I think we can trust Erik."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Erik, is it?"

Charles flushed slightly and said, "Mr. Lehnsherr, then. We can trust him. And you can trust _me_ , Raven, I thought you knew that. We'll find your Miss Adler, and Kurt... we can find him. If that's what you want."

"I... thank you, Charles," Raven said.

"Of course." She embraced him and said, "I had better go make preparations for this afternoon. My invited guests will be _so_ disappointed."

"Perhaps you could play something wholesome, like charades, or bob for apples?"

"You always cheat at charades," she said, and went outside to find Mr. Lehnsherr. She stood at the entrance to Xavier House and saw him returning to the house. When he reached her, she said, "Ah, Mr. Lehnsherr, I'm afraid you've missed Madam Sterling. She's come and gone."

His double-take was moderately amusing, and he looked down at his pocket watch. "Gone?" he repeated.

"Indeed," she said, pursing her lips. "Apparently Charles had a talk with her before I came downstairs."

"I understood that this was your house, not his. You were the one who hired her, were you not? What right does Mr. Xavier have to dismiss her?"

Raven shook her head, though she did appreciate Mr. Lehnsherr's comment. It _was_ her house, was it not? But of course, Mr. Lehnsherr did not understand the true nature of her relationship to the Xavier family. She said, "You misunderstand. Charles didn't dismiss her. No, my brother sat her down for a sincere, life-changing chat. Madam Sterling hasn't just cancelled our seance; she has retired from the profession altogether. Presumably she'll go upstate and dedicate her life to good works and helping orphans and never stray from the straight and narrow again."

"I take it that you will no longer be requiring my services, then."

Raven bit her lip, not sure what to say. Charles had seemed rather fond of Mr. Lehnsherr, and the way he spoke about trusting him seemed to imply that he was involved with Charles's plans. But Raven supposed that was Charles's affair, not hers, and she said, "No, I suppose not. There's no need to hurry out, though--you can stay as long as you need to..."

"That won't be necessary," Lehnsherr said. He bowed and went past her, up to his quarters.

Raven found Mrs. Cassidy and told her about the change in plans for that evening's activities.

Mrs. Cassidy said, "I must admit I'm a bit relieved--can't say as I cared for the idea of inviting spirits into this home, especially around this time of year. Already seen enough darkness, if you ask me."

"Yes, I suppose so," Raven said. "Will there be a problem setting up apple-bobbing in the parlour?"

"No, Miss Darkholme, we'll get everything squared away, don't you worry."

"Thank you, Mrs. Cassidy, I trust you will," Raven said with a smile.

She didn't see Charles the rest of the afternoon, and she never saw Mr. Lehnsherr leave, but she was so busy making sure everything was ready for the party that she didn't have much time to think of it. She changed for dinner and played gracious hostess to the best of her abilities, explaining that Madam Sterling hadn't felt up to joining them, unfortunately. Her guests were disappointed, but the seance was merely an entertainment to them, nothing more, and they were happy to accept a substitute. When Charles appeared in the dining room he became the center of attention. Raven didn't mind; Charles always excelled at being the charming host, though to Raven he seemed a bit distracted tonight.

Still, he was the first to pluck an apple from the bin with his teeth, and the party guests giggled.

"You'll be the next of us to marry, then," Miss Grey said.

"Just superstition, of course," Charles said, but his cheeks flushed and he looked oddly pleased. Raven was sure that he was up to something, but she wasn't sure what. She knew it couldn't be with Miss Grey--it was clear to everyone that she'd be wed to Mr. Summers, just as soon as he could save up enough money.

She resolved to have a long chat with Charles as soon as possible. For the moment, though, she took her turn at the tub of apples, plunging her face into the cool water and feeling more optimistic about the future than she had in a good while.

* * *

Raven wasn't sure when, exactly, Charles had invited Mr. Lehnsherr--Erik--to become a long term guest at Xavier House, but now it was hard to imagine the house without him. Charles was simply so happy to have him there, and Raven didn't mind his company. He seemed a bit confused to be living there, but Raven understood better than anyone else how easily one could fall into Charles's orbit.

Then, one bright spring morning, Charles came to breakfast even more excited than his normal baseline of enthusiasm. For his part, Erik looked more smug than usual.

"Good morning, Charles," she said, adding sugar to her tea. "You look quite well today."

Charles beamed. "It looks to be a wonderful day, don't you think?"

"I suppose so," she said, peering out the windows. It did look like it might not rain today, which was rare enough.

Then Tom, the groomsman, came into the breakfast room. He gave a quick bow and said, "Master Xavier, your guest has arrived. I had Theresa take her up to her room to get settled, but I know you wanted to know when she was here, so..."

"Delightful! Thank you, Tom," Charles said. "Have you already had breakfast?"

"Yes, sir, thank you," Tom said. Charles still made the servants nervous sometimes, with his friendliness. "If that's all, then I'll just take my leave, sir..."

"Will Theresa bring her down to breakfast when she's settled?" Charles asked.

"I imagine so, sir," Tom said.

"Wonderful! Thank you, Tom, that will be all, then."

As soon as Tom left, Raven stared at Charles and Erik. "Our guest? It's not--did you--"

Charles beamed, and Raven's stomach dropped. "I--wish you had told me, so I could prepare..."

"What's to prepare? Her room is ready," Charles said. "You haven't changed your mind about wanting to see her, have you?"

"No--no of course I haven't changed my mind, I just..." Raven said, smoothing her hair.

"You look lovely as ever," Charles said. "Erik, doesn't she look lovely?"

"Of course," Erik said. "How could she not?"

"That's not what I..." Raven said, and trailed off when Theresa led a blind woman into the breakfast room.

"Miss Darkholme, I told you we would meet again, did I not?" Miss Adler said, her clouded eyes looking toward Raven.

Raven smiled. "You certainly did, Miss Adler." She turned to Erik and said, "Care to debunk another spiritualist?"

In unison, Miss Adler and Charles said, "Oh, I don't think that will be necessary."


End file.
